AFRIPOL.ORGIDEAS
HAVE CONSEQUENCES
AFRIPOL.ORGIDEAS
HAVE CONSEQUENCES
DIALOGUES AND LEADERSHIP
Affirmative leadership must be present in government, non
governmental organizations and private sectors for economic and political
freedom to be realized in Africa.
Leadership requires Prudence, Skill, Ingenuity and Initiative. These are also
the building blocks of a prosperous and a stable society rooted in systems based
on free enterprise and open society.
Dialogue is intrinsic for open society to thrive. Africa can be propelled to a
greater heights of prosperity and success in the presence of effective
Leadership & constructive Dialogues.
APRIPOL therefore, explores the power of Dialogues
and Leadership in forging a prosperous and a dynamic Africa.
SERIES ON GREAT NIGERIANS: PROFESSOR GEORGE A. OBIOZOR
PROFILE ON GREAT AFRICAN : TONY O. ELUMELU
AFRIPOL PERSON OF THE YEAR 2005
WORLD BANK INTERVIEW WITH AMBASSADOR ANDREW
YOUNG, JR.
Hon.
Andrew Young,Jr.
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz attended the 7th Sullivan Summit on July 18,
and delivered a keynote address. The Sullivan Summits bring together the world’s
political and business leaders, delegates representing national and
international civil and multinational organizations, and members of academic
institutions in order to focus attention and resources on Africa’s economic and
social development. Their mission was inspired by Rev. Leon H. Sullivan’s belief
that the development of Africa is a matter of global partnerships.
Interviewer: Ambassador Young, while you’re here at the Sullivan Summit
in Nigeria, what is the message you are delivering about Africa?
Ambassador Young: The message is that Africa is a continent with
tremendous opportunity. It’s the part of a global economy that’s got to work if
the rest of it is going to work. We compete with the Chinese, we compete with
the Europeans, but Africa can absorb everything we can produce, and it has the
mineral wealth and the human resources to pay for it. But somebody has to bring
us all together, and that’s why we’re grateful that you and the World Bank are
here
Interviewer: What is the role of a multilateral institution like the World Bank
and others?
Ambassador Young: We used to think that governments were important, and
they are. But I was on the Banking Committee in Congress and was one of the
early supporters of the World Bank because I grew up under the Marshall Plan,
and I saw that when Europe couldn’t help itself, the World Bank was the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development that really stabilized
Europe and Asia, and they kind of chickened out when they got to Africa. And now
finally we realize that if we don’t stabilize the entire planet, that the chaos
that’s generated, the loss of business – I think the world is in a kind of
social and economic balance, and for it to work everybody has to participate.
Interviewer: Tell us a little bit about the spirit of the African people
that you’re seeing as you travel.
Ambassador Young: I think I’m part of the African Diaspora, and the
amazing thing to me is that whether it’s the genocide in Rwanda or the civil war
in Nigeria or apartheid in South Africa, that there is an amazing resilience.
There’s a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. They don’t forget, but they
don’t let anything get them down. Atlanta talks about a city rising from the
ashes, but the whole African continent seems to have struggled with some of the
harshest conditions on the globe, and it has been a victim of some of the worst
persecutions. If you think about what went on in the Congo under Leopold, it’s
amazing that the Congo is able even to survive in the mess it’s in, but it’s
still maybe the richest block of real estate on the planet, and we’ve got to
find a way to intelligently develop it and help those people to realize their
potential in order for us to realize our potential.
Interviewer: One last question. Why should the average person leading a
comfortable life in a rich developed country care about the future of Africa?
Ambassador Young: I don’t think my life could be comfortable for ever.
Unfortunately, I’m a capitalist. I was born in a free-enterprise economy, and
you can’t stay still. You either have to grow or decline. And you can’t grow
much more in Europe. The Europeans have reached a point where they’ve stopped
our growth. The area where the growth potential is the greatest, and for me the
easiest, is Africa. And I’d like to see our cities flourish. We’re not going to
be able to compete with China if we’re producing just for Europe and China and
Latin America, but if we start making trucks for Africa instead of just trying
to make luxury automobiles, Africa could have sold every truck that Honda,
General Motors, and Mercedes could make, but somebody has to finance the roads,
somebody has to finance the mass transit. We probably shouldn’t build highways
all over Africa. We probably should look at railroads. We probably should look
at the kinds of vehicles that we use in our cities. But that’s too big for any
single company, and I wish Bill Gates and Warren Buffett had set aside about $10
billion of theirs for a global infrastructure fund. There was a global
infrastructure fund proposed by the President of Mitsubishi in Japan when I was
in Congress in the seventies, that said that -- I think he said – that there
were 50 places in the world where an infrastructure project of about $10 billion
would solve the problems of the world. One of those was the tunnel under the
English channel. Another sea-level Panama canal. He talked about a channel
connecting Europe to Morocco under Gibraltar. There is, I understand, a lake
under the Sahara desert finding a way to re-populate that lake and let the water
come up. A channel across one of the peninsulas in Vietnam or Indonesia –
somewhere around there – but all of them made sense and the ones that we’ve done
managed to pay for themselves. I’d like to see a road from Luanda to Kinshasa,
and another one from Luanda right on across the Caprivi Strip to Zambia and
Zimbabwe. It would be better if that were the railroad, but there are big things
that will make sense. We could have a game reserve that extended from Mozambique
right over to Angola, where we could protect and preserve all of the wildlife
forever, and it would generate tourism from all over the world. The world can be
made to make sense if we quit thinking of the things that divide us and realize
how we can be united in meeting the common good. No individual company can do
that. No individual country can do that. But a multilateral institution that
exists to make the world make sense, like the World Bank – and you’ve done a
good job in Europe and you’ve kept Africa sustained, but we’ve got to have a
takeover, and we’ve got to do it together, and everybody will profit by whatever
investment they make in making the world make sense.
Interviewer: Thank you very much.
Andrew Jackson Young, Jr. (born March 12, 1932) is an
American civil rights activist, member of the Democratic Party, former mayor of
Atlanta, Georgia, and was the United States' first African American ambassador
to the United Nations.
In addition, Honorable Andrew Young is chairman of Atlanta-based GoodWorks
International, a specialty consulting group that provides strategic services to
corporations and governments operating in the global economy.
DIALOGUE AND LEADERSHIP FORUM PRESENTS:
DEBT CANCELLATION AND LEADERSHIP:
The triumph of Dialogue and Leadership have been registered with the 100% debt
cancellation for 18 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries by G8 nations. Most of these
countries are in Africa.
The debt cancelled was $16.7 billion owed by 18 countries - Benin, Bolivia,
Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania,
Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In another development, Nigeria was also granted a $18.309 billion debt relief
by Paris Club of Creditors. This debt arrangement translate to 60% of the total
$30.515 billion owned to it by Nigeria. The conditional stipulation is for
Nigeria to pay $12.4 billion from its debt arrears, this is not debt
cancellation akin to the 18 HIPC by G8. This deal must be fully examined,
analyzed and absolutely comprehended before its acceptance and implementation.
A communiqué issued by the Paris Club titled “Paris Club Creditors Agree in
Principle on a Comprehensive Debt Treatment for Nigeria," read thus: “The
representative of the Paris Club creditor countries met in Paris on 29 June 2005
and expressed their readiness, consistent with their national laws and
regulations, to enter into negotiations with Nigerian authorities in the months
to come on a comprehensive debt treatment."
APRIPOL is canvassing and looking forward to
the total and unconditional write-off of the entire Africa‘s foreign debt in
order to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving global poverty by
2015. Developmental aid should also be given to those nations that have
democratic systems with checks and balances. And to those countries that respect
human rights and are willing to fight corruption.
From L- R President Clinton, Gates, Mbeki, Blair, Bono & President
Obasanjo
AFRIPOL extol this affirmation and congratulate G8 nations, Paris Club of
Creditors, The Commission for Africa, The Jubilee Debt Campaign, DATA, World
Economic Forum & others. In addition, men and women of goodwill who initiated
and championed the struggle for debt cancellation, poverty alleviation and
diseases eradication. These people are:
Music superstar Bono of U2, the founder of DATA
President George Bush USA, The leader of the Free World
Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Great Britain
Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Great Britain
Thabo Mbeki, the President of South Africa
Olusegun Obasanjo, the President of Nigeria
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance Nigeria
Dr. Noreena Hertz, the Author of The Debt Threat
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs,
founder of Earth Institute & Author of the The End of poverty
Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of UN
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Gates Foundation.
Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter of United States
LEADERS OF GREAT 8 AND RICHEST NATIONS ©
2006 AFRIPOL.org
AFRICA’S DEBT REMISSION: UNDERSTANDING G8
AND PARIS CLUB PROPOSALS.
A critical analysis must be delved in order to fully understand the just
concluded debt relief of the 18 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries by G8. The
initiative for HIPC debt cancellation for debts owned to World Bank, IMF and
African Development Bank were extended to them because those nations have
reached the “completion points” as were proposed by their creditors and
G8.Initially 22 and 24 countries were proposed by Canada and Britain's
respectively for 100% debt cancellations. But only 18 countries were able to
meet the stringent requirements for the debt cancellation. Fourteen of these
countries are in Africa.
There are salient points that must be highlighted in this historic milestone :
1. Sixty two countries were recommended for debt cancellation by civil groups
because of their dire poverty, diseases and starvation. But only 18 countries
were approved for debt cancellation.
2. The nominally debt owned by these 18 nations is about $40 billion. But the
actual cost to the creditors is between $(15-18) Billion and that is the amount
needed to payoff the debts.
3. The modalities for the payment of the debts by G8 to the multilateral
financial institutions namely The World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB) and
IMF have been planned and mapped out. These are the institutions that are the
creditors of the 18 nations. The World Bank and ADB will have G8 countries pay
according to percentage of their relative shares in the institutions. And the
IMF, its resources worth about $4 billions in gold will be utilize for the
reimbursement to the institution. This implies that every member nations of IMF
is paying for the debt write off by the G8. After all the IMF resources are the
collective ownership of its financial members.
NIGERIA AND PARIS CLUB OF CREDITORS:
The cancellation of Nigeria’s 60% of the $31 billion debt owned to Paris club
creditors was a historic milestone.
A great deal of credit must be accorded to the democratic administration of
President Obasanjo, for its implementation of the stringent economic reforms led
by the Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, which culminated to the debt
relief. Let’s reflect on Nigeria external debt.
In 1985, Nigeria owned $8 billion to Paris club creditors, out of $19 billion of
its foreign debt.
By the elapse of 2004, Nigeria was owning Paris club $31 billion out of $36
billion of its foreign debt. Since 1992, Nigeria have not receive any loan from
Paris club. So, where is the justification for the increase of the debt? Blame
it on the malleable interest rate, interest arrears and interest charged on the
arrears. And the political and monetary instability that did contribute to the
debt increased.
The political situation prior to return to democracy, was tantamount to adding
insult to injury. Making it nearly impossible for Paris Club to negotiate with
Nigerian leadership. The exchange rate then was not realistic nor was Naira
subject to market forces, another obstacle for any viable negotiation. Now the
condition for this debt cancellation is that “Nigeria will pay off $6 bn owned
in arrears to creditors. It will then receive 67% debt relief worth $16.7 bn, on
its remaining debt, and finally buy the remaining $8.2b it owes at discounted
market rate.” Nigeria have repaid $42b over past 38years. The Paris Club would
have cancelled the total debt, rather than requiring for the debt buy back of
the 40% of the remaining debt. Nigeria has a good record of servicing and
meeting its debt obligations, and have paid its principal and reasonable
interest on the debt, that can justify 100% cancellation. IN TOTALITY, NIGERIA
WILL PAY BETWEEN $(12-12.5) BILLION IN RETURN OF $18 BILLION IN DEBT RELIEF.
The billions of dollars that Nigeria will be paying is larger than the amount
rich nations will be providing to poor countries in a period of ten years.
HOLLYWOOD'S
GREATEST FRIENDS OF AFRICA 2006
(1). Oprah Winfrey : She has given so much
to Africa. From the school she is building for girls in South Africa to the
showcasing of the plights of children in Africa. Ms Winfrey is among the best
friends of Africa.
She is a true Zulu and a great daughter of Africa.
(2). Angelina Jolie: A Goodwill Ambassador
for United Nations, commissioner for Refugees. Her frequent travels to Africa‘s
hot spots including Sudan, Liberia, Ethiopia have shown her continuous devotion
to humanity and amity to Africa. Recently, she adopted an Ethiopian child,
making it the second adoption. The first to a Cambodian child.
Ms Jolie has visited many refugees camps and participated in dialogue of making
life more ease for children around the world and Africa in particular. She said
“Africa is beautiful, marvelous, smart people, strong people ... It’s
magnificent and it has so much hope, so much possibility.”
Jolie is a good friend of Africa. Yes! an African daughter indeed.
(3) Danny Clover: A humanitarian and social
activist. He was named a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador
in 1998. In one of his movies, he exposed the evil of Apartheid South Africa
with his co star Mel Gibson. He is a board member of Trans Africa, an
organization committed to Justice for Africans around the world. He has
committed time and resources to many African causes. A true gentleman with a
warrior soul and a great son of Africa.
(4) Will Smith: He has become so close to
Africa that you hardly see Nelson Mandela without him somewhere in the vicinity.
Mr. Smith had played an active part in the Mandela war against AIDS and POVERTY.
He has traveled so much, so frequent to Africa that we can rightly call him a
true son of the soil.
(5)Brad Pit: Nothing about him will give him
in as a friend to Africa. But this man is a great soul that is committed to
helping sick children in Africa. He is part of Nelson Mandela campaign and
awareness on HIV and AIDS in South Africa.
(6) Stevie Wonder: A pillar and a symbol of
pan-Africanism. He is in everything and anything to do with Africa. Stevie
Wonder fought against Apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
He participated in WE ARE THE WORLD & LIVE AID FOR AFRICA concerts. Stevie
Wonder is a great African son.
(7) Bob Geldof : Africa will forever be
grateful to this great Irish soul. Geldof an Anti-poverty campaigner organized
the LIVE AID ‘85 & LIVE 8. Geldof sees no boundary in human affairs and his
humanity has no bound. A great friend of Africa. He is nominated for 2006 Noble
Peace Prize Award.
(8) BONO of
U2 : In true sense of it, he is a humanitarian and philanthropist. A
debt cancellation activist for poor nations. He devoted his music, resources and
time to save lives in Africa. He is beyond a friend, this great Irish rocker can
be called a great son of Africa. Yes he truly is !!!
(9) Quincy Jones: Before charity cause for
Africa becomes hip, Mr. Q was ahead of the game. He understood Africa and her
problems. When drought and famine roamed the horn of Africa especially Ethiopia,
he organized WE ARE THE WORLD concert. This is a true African son.
(10) Don
Cheadle : He starred in the movie RWANDA HOTEL, that delineated the
Genocide in Rwanda. Don have been to the hot spots in Africa including Sudan. He
has recounted his observations to the US Congress. He is an American that never
forgets his root. He is a true son of the soil. May you lineage endures !
(11) Chris Tucker: A perfect gentleman and a
great friend of Africa. On his initiative he had studied about Africa’s
problems. Tucker has engaged in the battle against Aids and poverty in the
Africa. He has accompanied former Secretary of State Collin Powell to the
continent to encourage economic development . He has traveled widely and
extensively in Africa including South Africa, Ethiopia, Gabon and many others.
Chris Tucker is a true son of the soil.
12) George Clooney: A humanitarian who
actively participated in “live 8," which drums attention to poverty in
developing world. Clooney artistic proficiency has been liken to Clark Cable the
Hollywood icon. He supports the ONE campaign which called attention to poverty
in Africa and the detrimental ramification of African foreign debt. He subscribe
to the philosophy that poverty can be significantly reduced in Africa by
increasing international aid, debt remission and fair trade. Clooney is an
important friend to Africa.
© 2006 AFRIPOL.org
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AFRICA A HOT DESTINATION FOR THE FAMOUS. A new
kind of fauna has appeared on the vast, sun-burned expanses of Africa:
Celebrities
The baby born in Namibia to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt probably put that south
African desert nation on the map for many of her parents' fans. And possibly for
other celebs as well: on Friday, a government official there was quoted as
saying that Britney Spears is considering a Namibian birth for her next baby
(which the pop singer's rep denied later in the day).
George Clooney's recent trip to the conflict-wracked Darfur region got more
media attention than the millions of refugees who continue to be harassed, raped
and killed there.
When actor Matt Dillon tried to visit Darfur, the Sudanese government denied him
a visa, perhaps weary of the celebrity limelight. The government denies
accusations it unleashed a genocide by backing counterinsurgency militiamen
known as janjaweed, who are blamed for most of the atrocities in Darfur's
three-year conflict that has left more than 180,000 people dead.
"If celebrities can attract some attention by coming here, all the better," said
actress Mia Farrow, a United Nations Children's Fund goodwill ambassador who
this week was on her second trip to Darfur.
"If I thought it was useless or self-serving to come, I certainly wouldn't be
here," said Farrow, who toured humanitarian projects and met with local leaders
during her four-day stay.
Celebrity activism — from protesting the Vietnam war to rallying opposition to
gun control — certainly isn't new. Bob Geldof 1985's Live Aid concert may have
been a high point for stars and Africa, but recent events show interest is still
strong.
Some celebrities come for professional reasons, then find their charitable
impulses stirred by what they see on the world's poorest continent. After
filming on location, the cast and crew of "The Constant Gardener," a thriller
starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz involving corruption in Africa, set up a
charity to try to improve conditions in Kenyan slums.
Jolie has traveled to Africa frequently as an actress and as a goodwill
ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. But her recent trip was
purely personal — she and Pitt retreated to Namibia for private family time for
the birth of their daughter. The Namibian government was more than
accommodating, telling journalists seeking visas to cover the celebrity birth
that they needed permission from Pitt and Jolie in writing before they could be
allowed into the country.
The government arrested photographers, confiscated film, set up large barriers
on the beach to shield the couple and ringed their hotel with heavy security.
After Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born May 27 in a private Namibian clinic, her
parents donated $300,000 to Namibian government-run hospitals to help other
babies in the impoverished country.
In Sudan, Farrow said she had been involved in helping developing world children
for several decades.
"By reaching out to others, I've found a life that is meaningful," she said.
She described how her own privileged childhood in Beverly Hills as the daughter
of film director John Farrow and movie star Maureen O'Sullivan was interrupted
when she caught polio at the age of nine.
"It gave me some perspective and made me discover the other world, of pain, and
fear," she said.
After her first marriage to singer Frank Sinatra, she began adopting children
from poor countries, beginning in 1973 with an orphan from the Vietnam War.
Farrow, who had three sons with her second husband, musician Andre Previn, and
one with film director Woody Allen, is the mother of 14.
"These children were the first significant commitment I made to others," said
the actress, who also became active in the campaign against polio and in a
charity headed by Nelson Mandela before becoming a Unicef ambassador 10 years
ago.
While visiting Angola with Unicef after the war there in 2002, she caught
malaria and nearly became deaf because of subsequent treatment.
She brought her 17-year-old son, Ronan, along to Sudan. He recently underwent a
knee operation and hobbled by her side on crutches as the pair visited several
volatile refugee camps.
"I don't think I'm reckless, and I hope I'm a responsible mother," she said,
acknowledging that she knew there were some dangers to traveling through Darfur.
"There are certain risks worth taking, and there are certain inactions that are
inexcusable," she said. "You've got to stand with what you believe in."
Farrow recalled one woman in Darfur telling of witnessing janjaweed militia
killing her husband and two of her children, and then turning on her.
"She couldn't even remember how many times they raped her," Farrow said,
clutching a necklace of amulets the woman gave her, telling her they would keep
her safe.
"I was speechless, I had nothing to give back to ensure her own safety," Farrow
said. She said she could only promise to tell her story to the world, hoping
such accounts would force the world to take action. She said she would plead for
the international community to hasten the arrival of U.N. peacekeepers here.
"Her story is sacred," Farrow said.
"I just wish I could be more famous, or more powerful, so that my voice would
carry further when I speak about Darfur," she said.
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer
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WHY DEBT CANCELLATION FOR AFRICA?
In this continent, the four horsemen of the apocalypse - conquest,
conflict, famine and death are no mere visitors. They have taken up residence.
-Martin Wolf (Financial Times)
In view of mismanagement of Africa’s resources and funds; even the looting of
her treasury by some of her leaders, it can be said thereof, that corruption has
attained an alarming proportion in the continent. In fact, it has eroded the
system. It may therefore, sound incredible and laughable when one suggests that
time has come for a cancellation or rather a major debt relief to Africa’s
enormous foreign debt.
The cost of the foreign debt payments to the African citizens is not a child’s
play. The funds that would have been used to upgrade the health care system and
quality of education were diverted to debt servicing and payments. African
children are paying the price for debt servicing.
These debts are owed to industrialized nations. African governments have been
unable to meet up with their financial obligations and have resorted to
continuous rescheduling of the loan payments as regulated by International
Financial Institutions and their agents, such as IMF, London Club, Paris club,
World Bank and others.
As years progress, so also the burden of the debt widens. However, all the
stakeholders fully take cognizance of the fact that these loans seem impossible
to be liquidated with ease.
So many figures have been thrown around, but the most recent data stated that
Africa’s foreign debt currently stood at $350 billions. This is outrageous, a
gigantic yoke!
To buttress the level of poverty in Africa, out of the 41 nations identified as
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries(HIPC) according to World Bank, 33 of those
nations are from Africa. Africa has nothing to show for such an enormous debt
but weak and dilapidated infrastructures with a very devastating low human
development index.
Below are the intrinsic reasons why APRIPOL
subscribe to debt cancellation for Africa, which must go forward without much
ado or conundrum:
1. Mutual Benefit: Africa and the West can share an affirmative
interdependence based on mutual respect and benefit. This can only be possible
when the burden of debt is released from African’s shoulder. When Africa is
stable, this spells well for democracy and capitalism. This will in return
stimulate trade.
2. Global Stability: A healthy and wealthy Africa will contribute to the
world stability. Moreover, Africa will have the adequate resources to make
impact in resolving conflicts within her continent. This is good for Africa in
particular and the world in general.
3. Social Security and Freedom: Actually, the brunt of the debt payments
mostly rests on children and women and not on African leaders. Those who absorb
the agonizing pains are the poor masses. For them, there is no job; no food; no
shelter. The leaders hide under the guise of being incapacitated because of
foreign debt payment obligations, to shy away from their responsibilities and
they allow the masses to wallow in abject poverty while they themselves live
flamboyantly and affluently. Therefore the debt cancellation at least, if
judiciously managed will affect the poor positively, when such funds are
channeled to areas that will make life worth living.
4. Non Restrictions on Economic Policies: The truth is that as a result
of these foreign debts, the West directly or indirectly dictates Africa’s
economic policies. Africa’s economy is import driven. They rely heavily on
importation. It is not always economic policies that suit African that matter
but those that are favored by the foreign creditors. That is why their policies
are tailored to suit foreign debt demands. If debt relief is granted, Africa can
now employ policies that will be considered unique to her economic goals.
5. A Clean Slate /Economic Freedom: What Africa desperately needs now is
a fresh beginning. For the fact that the debts are cancelled, it will give
Africa hope and a sense of belonging. Africa will now put up confidence to
bargain for what is good for the continent in the comity of nations without ego
problem of being indebted.
6. Africa's History: Yes, it is important too. This is not just to be
visceral but to be realistic to Africa and again for the sake of history, Africa
has suffered untold hardship via slavery and colonialism. This time around,
reasonable people can conclude that Africa needs a push.
7. Principal Loan Accomplishment: The actual principal borrowed had been
paid. The problem now is the accumulated interest over the years and it is still
going up. It is point clear now that Africa has demonstrated concerted
commitment to her financial obligations.
8. State of Health Care in Africa: Against all odds, a case must be made
for a sound healthcare in Africa. There is no fund to implement Africa Union
agenda on health. The cost is beyond the resources and funds at hand. AIDS,
Malaria, Polio, Ebola are confronting Africa. This continent needs the funds to
aggressively fight back these killer diseases.
9. Promotion of Democracy: A political paradigm based on fairness and
equality with broad-based representatives known as Democracy cannot survive on
an empty stomach. Democratic system of government is quite expensive to operate.
For democracy to have a true light of the day in Africa, the needed resources
must be available.
10. Reinforcement of Economic Capitalism: For Adam Smith’s concept of
free enterprise to take hold in Africa, Africans must have good impression of
capitalism. These foreign loans servicing and payments do not augur well for
capitalism and laissez faire before the suffering masses of Africa. Africa’s
weak and dilapidated infrastructures must be developed to international
standard. This will enable industrialization and investments to be realized in
the continent.
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